The Director General of Public Security Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi, the legal advisor to the Minister Major General Dr. Abdullah Al Maal, the Assistant Secretary General of the GCC for Security Affairs Huzaa Al Hajiri and a number MoI officers and members of the direct board of the centre representing GCC countries attended the inaugural ceremony.

GCC-CICCD Director Colonel Saqr Rashid Al Muraikhi said the centre is the outcome of the joint efforts of GCC countries in drug prevention. Outlining the key functions of the centre, he said the Centre facilitates the collection of information, investigation and surveillance operations in co-ordination with competent entities to suppress any attempt of illegal trade in drugs.

The Centre also gathers information on all illegal dealings in drugs, chemicals and hallucination pills, stores the data and analyses it for the benefit of interested parties.

The primary strategy of the centre was approved way back in 2009 and it started functioning in April 2010, Colonel Al Muraikhi said and added, "The centre has signed an agreement with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for technical and training support. Steps are also afoot to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Police for training and another with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) for possible co-operation in the field."

More MoUs are on the anvil entities such as European Anti-Drug Office, Regional Intelligence Liaison Office Middle East (RILO) and the Police Training Institute of the Ministry of Interior, Qatar, he said.

The Centre is working on developing and qualifying the cadres working in the competent authorities among member states. It has already conducted three specialized training courses in collaboration with UNODC as well as held a regional workshop on chemical precursors. (QNA)